Closing Statement on 6th Financial Transparency Conference

PRESS RELEASE

As 6th Financial Transparency Conference ends, work on illicit financial flows is only getting started

Though local and regional contexts vary, participants from around the world see common thread in issues of tax and transparency

JAKARTA— As the 6th Financial Transparency Conference has come to a close, representatives from dozens of countries have coalesced around a shared cause of halting illicit financial flows and increasing transparency that can spur development.

Conference organizers have released the following statements:

“Illicit financial flows is a fairly new term here in Indonesia, but the problems created by the unchecked flow of money have been plaguing our country for years,” said Setyo Budiantoro, Executive Director of Prakarsa. “We’ve seen corruption, we’ve seen stolen funds, and we’ve see how corporations avoid taxes, but this conference has allowed us to share similar experiences with allies from around the world, letting us come up with a plan of action for the future.”

“Indonesia experiences some of the highest levels of illicit financial outflows in the world,” said Dadang Trisasongko, Secretary General of Transparency International Indonesia. “But list of ten highest levels of illicit flows also includes countries from Africa, Latin American, and the Middle East, which only confirms our belief that this is a global problem that requires concrete cooperation between regions.”

“I’m inspired by what has transpired the past few days,” said Alvin Mosioma, Chair of the Financial Transparency Coalition. “But we must continue to push for further equity in the decision making process. It’s quite stark that we had more than 25 countries represented here in Jakarta, but more than half of these countries have no voice and no vote in tax standards being set by the Paris-led OECD, despite being some of the most affected by tax dodging and illicit flows.”

“This is perhaps one of the most diverse groups of civil society we’ve seen yet,” said Porter McConnell, Director of the Financial Transparency Coalition. “Whether it’s tax justice campaigners, human rights groups, transparency advocates, or the open data community, we are all waking up to the fact that a broken and secretive financial system is at the heart of many problems plaguing our society.”

We are a pioneering global network of organizations working on illicit financial flows. We use our wide reach and expertise to influence global norms and standards for financial transparency, and close loopholes in the global financial system. We seek to curtail illicit financial flows through the promotion of a transparent, accountable and sustainable financial system that works for everyone.